Subsequent experiments revealed that NaHS regulated the phosphatidylinositol 3?kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)?mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway during this process. In vivo, intraperitoneal injection of low concentration NaHS (9 mg/kg) activated the PI3K/Akt?mTOR pathway in mammary glands of pubescent mice, increased the secretion of insulin?like growth factor 1 (IGF?1) and estradiol (E2), and then stimulated mammary gland ductal development. Whereas a high concentration of NaHS (18 mg/kg) elicited the opposite effects to those of low?dose NaHS. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that exogenous H2S supplied by NaHS may exert bidirectional effects on mammary gland ductal development; promoting ductal development at a low concentration and inhibiting it at a high concentration. The effects of H2S may occur via the intracellular PI3K/Akt?mTOR signaling pathway, or by regulation of the secretion of IGF?1 and E2.Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is a harmful pathogen often found in water systems. In hospitals, the absence of L. pneumophila in water systems is mandatory by law, therefore, frequent and effective monitoring of water is of fundamental importance. Molecular methods based on reverse transcription?quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT?qPCR) have been proposed for the detection of L. pneumophila, however, the sensitivity and accuracy of these methods have not been validated yet. Therefore, it is important to evaluate other strategies able to overcome the limits of culture?based and RT?qPCR methods. On these bases, we compared the sensitivity and accuracy of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and RT?qPCR in water samples with known concentrations of L. pneumophila and in an in vitro model of water heat treatments. ddPCR showed a higher sensitivity rate and accuracy compared to RT?qPCR in detecting low bacterial load. In addition, ddPCR is not affected by the presence of fragmented DNA and showed higher accuracy than RT?qPCR in monitoring the efficacy of heat shock treatments. In conclusion, ddPCR represents an innovative strategy to effectively detect L. pneumophila in water samples. Thanks to its high robustness, ddPCR could be applied also for the detection of L. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/tetrazolium-red.html pneumophila in patients with suspected legionellosis.Following the publication of this article, the authors have realized that grant number published in the 'Funding' section of their paper was written incorrectly The grant number for the support the authors received from the Health Commission of Hubei Province Scientific Research Project should have been written as 'WJ2019F038' instead of 'WJ2009F038'. The authors apologize to the funders of their research project, and to the readership of the Journal for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in International Journal of Molecular Medicine 46 849?858, 2020; DOI 10.3892/ijmm.2020.4623].Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of endogenous non?coding RNAs that are connected at the 3' and 5' ends by exon or intron cyclization, which forms a covalently closed loop. They are stable, well conserved, exhibit specific expression in mammalian cells and can function as microRNA (miRNA or miR) sponges to regulate the target genes of miRNAs, which influences biological processes. Such as tumor proliferation, invasion, metastasis, apoptosis and tumor stage. circRNAs represent promising candidates for clinical diagnosis and treatment. In the present review, the biogenesis, classification and functions of circRNAs in tumors are briefly summarized and discussed. In addition, the participation of circRNAs in signal transduction pathways regulating gastrointestinal cancer cellular functions is highlighted.Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the most common type of malignant tumor of the bile duct and is characterized by high morbidity and mortality; it is difficult to diagnose in the early stages and responds poorly to current conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The present study investigated the role of GSK?3β signaling on the anticancer effects of doxorubicin in human CCA cells. Blocking GSK?3β enhanced the sensitivity of human CCA cells to doxorubicin (Dox)?induced apoptosis, which was accompanied by decreased AKT and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activity. Moreover, inhibiting GSK?3β using 6?bromoindirubin?3'?oxime, CHIR99021 or small interfering RNA decreased phosphorylation of FAK and AKT, and promoted apoptosis of Dox?induced human CCA cells. Moreover, FAK inhibition suppressed AKT activity independently of phosphoinositide 3?kinase activity. These results indicated that GSK?3β protects human CCA cells against Dox?induced apoptosis via sustaining FAK/AKT activity.Centromere protein M (CENPM), a protein required for chromosome separation, is involved in in mitosis. However, little has been reported about the roles of CENPM in various types of cancer. The present study identified that the mRNA expression levels of CENPM were significantly upregulated in 14 types of human cancer and identified a positive association between CENPM mRNA expression and patient mortality using the Oncomine, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis, Human Protein Atlas and Kaplan?Meier Plotter databases. A protein interaction network constructed with CENPM?interacting genes obtained from the cBioPortal demonstrated that nine genes participating in the cell cycle served key roles in the function of CENPM. Cell cycle analysis, reverse transcription?quantitative polymerase chain reaction, a Cell Counting Kit?8?based proliferation assay and a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling assay further revealed the tumorigenic and carcinogenic roles of CENPM in vitro. In addition, it was identified that the mRNA expression levels of five of the nine identified genes were significantly associated with CENPM in MCF7 cells and that CENPM was rarely mutated among various types of human cancer. In conclusion, the data from the present study revealed that CENPM exerted its pro?tumorigenic function by regulating cell cycle?associated protein expression and suggested that CENPM could be used as a prognostic marker for breast cancer.